OptionsXpress (NASDAQ: OXPS) shares are trading higher today after the company announced it will acquire Open E Cry LLC for $18 million in cash and stock. Open E Cry is a high-volume futures broker. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on OXPS.

After hitting a one-year high of $34.95 in December, the stock hit a one-year low of $18.55 in March. OXPS opened this morning at $22.57. So far today the stock has hit a low of $22.52 and a high of $23.46. As of 12:15, OXPS is trading at $23.19, up $0.62 (2.7%). The chart for OXPS looks bullish and steady, while S&P gives the stock a bullish 4 Stars (out of 5) Buy rating.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider an August bull-put credit spread below the $20 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 9.9% return in just two months as long as OXPS is above $20 at August expiration. OXPS would have to fall by more than 14% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) profits rose 30%, easily beating analysts' expectations.
• AMETEK Inc. (NYSE: AME) beat Q1 estimates on global strength and recent acquisitions.
• Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) easily beat Q2 expectations but offered a weak outlook.
• AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) posted strong Q1 results thanks to the popularity of the iPhone.
• Baidu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) beat earnings and saw an upgrade from Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C).
• Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) Q1 profit soared, and it raised its guidance.
• Cymer Inc. (NASDAQ: CYMI) beat Q1 estimates and announced a share million buyback program.
• Electronic Data Systems Inc. (NYSE: EDS) posted Q1 profits on cost cutting and new contracts.
• EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) Q1 earnings fell on on acquisition-related charges.
• Hexcel Corp. (NYSE: HXL) beat Q1 estimates on increased commercial aerospace sales.
• Huaneng Power ADS (NYSE: HNP) earnings plunged on coal prices, but the stock went higher.
• Level 3 Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) narrowed its loss on higher sales of networking services.
• McAfee Inc. (NYSE: MFE) Q1 profit plunged on product development and marketing costs.
• MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR) missed analysts' estimates for the first quarter.
• Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) beat earnings expectations and raised its full-year guidance.
• Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) profit soared in the first quarter on increase in subscriptions.
• Nintendo Co. (OTC: NTDOY) posted record results due to the popularity of the Wii system.

Nextest Systems Corporation (NASDAQ: NEXT): Buy-out by Teradyne, Inc. (NYSE: TER) brings peaks at $19.64, up from 52-week low of $10.49.

OptionsXpress Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: OXPS): Broker says it had a big increase in November volume. Shares trade up to $32.50 against 52-week low of $20.78.

EMCORE Corporation (NASDAQ: EMKR): Lands deal to provide parts for solar-power systems in Canada. Up to $11.67 from 52-week low of $3.84.

Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES): Price of crude jumps 5% to multi-week high. Shares move up to $82.48 from 52-week low of $45.96.

Celanese Corporation (NYSE: CE): Chemical company raises full-year outlook. Trades up to $43.72 from 52-week low of $22.56.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.